Is your coffee ‘fair’ to its cultivators and the environment?

Specialty coffee played the leading role in the adoption of certification systems whose labels attest to the environmental or socioeconomic sustainability of the supply chain for a particular coffee. Environmental certifications include Organic, Bird Friendly and Rainforest Alliance, which promote sustainable farming techniques that encourage biodiversity.

The first social certification programme was developed by the Fairtrade movement. In 1988, Solidaridad, a Dutch religious organization, established the Max Havelaar label – named after the novel denouncing the colonial coffee trade in Java. It started purchasing from producer cooperatives, initially in Mexico, and marketing the coffee in Germany and the Netherlands. In 1989, UK charities including Oxfam followed suit, creating the Cafédirect brand, and selling it through church halls and charity shops. In 1997, Fairtrade International was established to unite the various national schemes.

Fairtrade remains the only certification system to guarantee producers a minimum price for their coffee. Its pricing structures reflect whether the coffee is Arabica or Robusta, natural or washed, organic or non-organic. In addition, the exporting cooperative receives a social premium to be invested in improving the living conditions of the coffee-farming community. Since 2011, a quarter of this premium must be invested in improving quality. Should the world market...

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